Kefir is a very good probiotic and is rich in enzymes, Vitamin B. Unlike yougurt its benefits last for more than one day.
Prerequisites
- A glass bottle (size of fruit jam bottle) preferable with plastic lid.
- Filter similar to tea filter, but of plastic.
- Plastic or wooden spoon. Never bring Kefir grains or Kefir liquid in direct contact with metal utinsils.
- Good quality white sugar (preferably with no preservatives)
- Either good quality brown sugar, Jaggery, organic molasses
- Baking Soda. It is not baking powder. It is also called Eating Soda in India.
- A lemon
Preparation
Once you obtain the grains, place them in a glass jar with two tablespoons
of sugar. Add water until it is about 2-3 inches above the grains and store in
the fridge overnight. There is a lot of flexibility with how you prepare water
kefir, but the basic steps are as follows.
Step 1
Fill a glass jar with water, leaving a couple inches of headspace at the top.
For every 2-3 cups of water add a tablespoon of grains and a tablespoon or
two of sugar. You can use white sugar, brown sugar, molasses, etc.
Step 2
Stir with a wooden spoon until sugar is dissolved. If you want to add fruit at
this point, go ahead. You can also squeeze some lemon juice in.
Step 3
Cover the jar with a paper towel, or light cloth, so the mixture can breathe,
and store in a cool, dark place, like a cupboard for 7-12 hours depending on
room temperature and how strong you want it. On a hot summer day it
may be ready in as little as 7-8 hours.
How to consume it
After fermenting the Kefir grains with suagr and water solution for about 7-12 hours you can filter the liquid from grains. This liquid you can directly drink or can make non hot beverages such as lemonade by mixing lemon juice or some other fruit juice. You can store this liquid in fridge for 24 hours or a bit more.
When you are taking this drink for first time, start with less quantity like 1 or 2 spoons and then gradually increase in take.
While preparing for first time using starter culture, do not consume the finished liquid for first 3 to 4 days. Simply throw it and start next fermentation cycle by adding fresh sugar and water to the grains.
Precautions and Troubleshooting
- Never expose Kefir grains or fermented solutions to heat, it will kill the Kefir.
- During fermentation never keep the bottle directly exposed to sun light.
- During or after fermentation if Kefir liquid or grains color changes to blue or green then there could have been contamination during preparation so you need to discard whole batch i.e. liquid along with grains.
- If you see any molds in the bottle then you have to discard whole batch.
Tips
- Even after 10-12 hours of fermentation if your water kefir still tastes sugary then you can let it ferment for few more hours based on your local temperature. Kefir ferments slowly in cool temperature; moreover it should not be exposed to very hot temperatures also like summers, may be in such cases you can keep it in AC room.
